excerpts from a sermon.

I was (and have been) completely amazed at the message from church this morning. It was completely applicable, totally easy to understand and follow along, and there were some pretty funny bits here and there. Plus, the topic was on worrying. Which, if you as me, is something that's applicable to everyone's life at one point or another.

Take me, for example. On any given day, I worry about hitting someone while driving, if my grades will continue to look pretty on my resume, if I'll ever get married and have a husband to listen to my crazy ramblings, how I'll pay for my remaining time in college, if I'll ever get more blog readers, etc. 

So before I start rambling, here's the verse (more like verses) that the message focused on:

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:24-33, NIV).

I just love the whole birds part. The part of the sermon that I liked best was when the pastor had everyone in the congregation repeat after him, "I believe I am more valuable than the birds" (or something to the same effect). Why did I like it? Because it shows that God truly cares about us. And if feeds the birds, then he will surely meet my needs as well.

The message also struck a chord with me because I've been struggling with the whole completely trusting God with my life. If you didn't catch it earlier in my list of random worries, most of my worries pertain to the future. The what if's in life, really. So turning my life (and future) over to God has been something that I'll do for a little while, then have to do again some time later. Today's message just reminded me that faith and trust go hand in hand. And that worrying buts a major roadblock in my relationship with Him.

And I know that my relationship is way more important than my worries.